Words that add life and light
Have you ever noticed how some words drain the life right out of you? There are words that cause us to feel bad about ourselves and keep us from reaching our full potential. You might be thinking that is assigning a lot of power to a little word, but the truth is, words do have power, especially when they come out of the mouth of someone we love and trust. This is why we should be careful about the words we speak. When we are accusatory toward a loved one, and really all we are doing is trying to manipulate a certain outcome, then we are guilty of speaking words that kill. However, when we speak hope and love and encouragement, then we are speaking words that give life. Always choose words that uplift, and then you will never have to be concerned about trying to call a word back, which is as impossible as calling back the last breath you breathed.
Proverbs 20 and 21 are filled with so much wisdom, and since wisdom is what we are seeking let’s plunge right in. Proverbs 20 begins with warning about strong drink. There is some controversy in the church about drinking alcohol. Some churches say consumption of alcohol is a sin and their members either abstain or drink in secret. Let me tell you if you have to do anything in secret it is something you should not do, whether your church says so or not. Personally, if I wanted to have a glass of wine at night but I know my church is adamantly opposed to drinking, I would find a church where my views and theirs were more closely aligned. One over-riding theme of the Bible is balance. We are to balance work, play, church life and family life. Likewise, if we choose to drink we should do so moderately. It is when we drink too much, eat too much, let our anger consume us–you get the idea–that we lapse into sin.
We are told repeatedly to avoid laziness, avoid excessive sleep, make sure our weights and balances are equal (be fair) and let our words be pure. Why, I wonder, did God think we needed 31 chapters of constant reminders about right living? Because our nature is to live in the flesh, not in the spirit. In other words, our sin nature all too often gets the better of us so God is reminding us that there is another way we should go, and it is the way of the Lord.
Prov. 21:2 says that there is a way that seems right to man, but God knows the heart. Can we ever know our own hearts? There is a saying, to thine own self be true. Sometimes our hearts are deceitful–we don’t want to know what is hidden there. God is so good and so kind that he does not reveal the entirety of our hearts all at once to us. If He did, I believe it would crush us. Therefore, he reveals our sinful nature just a little at a time so that when revealed, we can repent and receive redemption.
Won’t you go before God today and thank Him that although He requires holiness of us He also gave us a Savior to give us redemption–to buy us back from the sin we were in.
- Posted in: Holiness Forevermore
Seeking Holiness 